Chinese propaganda

I'm watching a chinese propaganda show on Nat Geo. Lots of them there, which is fine, but this one is two Brits revisiting where they grew up; today they are wide eyed in admiration about how the Chinese in Harbin go about their daily work despite "the temperature being constantly under zero" (i.e. 32 degrees F).
and then, to prove how great these Chinese are, they imitate locals and plunge into a frozen river.

Sorry, guys, but I lived for three years in Minnesota, and three years in the mountains of New England, and am not impressed.

Polar bear plunges are done all over the US and canada, and are an old custom (although not as "old" as having a sweat bath and then rolling around in the snow).

If you really want to be "modern" in a Minnesota winter, try this instead:



Kawabunga!

Ditto for ThomasFriedman's naive admiration for China, which I wrote about HERE.

In the essay, I mention the down side of China selling stuff to the world, helped by their underpriced Yuan: They are undermining local industries from starting here in the Philippines, and some African economic sites mention the same thing.

there is a word for this: Neocolonialism.